Keeping Koi As A Hobby

Koi are a hardy fresh, cold water fish, that have the ability to survive on most of the continents of the world. Originally, the fish we now know as koi, developed from the common carp in China, where is was domesticated for a food source.  Due to natural color mutations, historical records indicate that carp were first bred for color mutations in that country.

Because of the carp’s natural ability to survive under a variety of conditions, breeding the colorful variations in Japan started in the 1820′s.  This is also where the koi name came from.  It wasn’t until 1914, that the rest of the world became aware of the color variations of the carp, when the first were put on exhibition in Tokyo.

The hobby of keeping koi eventually spread worldwide.

Being omnivorous, koi will often eat a wide variety of foods, including watermelon, peas and lettuce.  However, koi food is designed to not only be nutritious but also float, forcing the fish close to the surface, where they can be seen and admired.   Also it is possible to check the fish for parasites and ulcers when they are eating close to the surface of the water.

Koi will often learn to recognize the person who regularly feeds them and will gather as close as the pond will allow them.  They can even be trained to take food from the hand that feeds them.  This makes the koi a very interesting pet to keep.

Their digestive system comes to nearly a halt and they eat very little during the winter.  They may take small amounts of algae from the bottom of their pond, to sustain them, but their appetites will not return before the pond warms again in the spring warm weather.  It is wise not to feed them after the temperatures drops below 10 °C (50 °F) because the proteins can go rancid in their stomachs, and cause them to become sick.

When koi are bought in a pet shop, they are generally quite small fry, often only the size of gold fish.  Often they are bought by amateurs and placed in an aquarium.  They can grow quite large relatively quickly and need space to live in. It is possible to increase the size of the aquarium to something in which they can live, but more often an outside pond is build for the fish.  The pond usually includes a pump and filtration system to keep the water clear.

Koi are at a disadvantage when they are in a pond.  Predators such as raccoons, cats, fox, badgers, heron and kingfishers are capable of catching these fish because the pond is not usually very deep and the fish are generally as bright as the owner can find.  A well designed pond will have very deep areas that large birds cannot stand in, branches high enough that mammals cannot use to reach the pond, and shade trees so that birds flying overhead cannot see them.  Some people string nets or wires above the surface.

Koi can be extremely long lived.  The oldest known koi was a scarlet fish named “Hanako”, who had been owned by several individuals.  Hanako was reported to be 226 years old upon her death.  This was supported by tests that were done on one scale and examining it extensively in 1966.  Hanako was born in 1751 and died July 7th, 1977.  She is the oldest koi fish ever recorded.

Finding The Right Koi Supplies For Your Fish

There is nothing more tranquil, then a pond with a small fountain or waterfall trickling and bubbling over stones. The scent of jasmine, roses or lilies wafting about in the air and the quiet interlude of fish, gently feeding from your hand. All sights and sounds of everyday living speeding past, just outside your yard, while you calmly survey and peacefully dream of another world, just below your fingers. This is the life of a Koi Pond owner.

The Koi is the most beautiful and colorful of all the domesticated pond fish. Keeping them requires at least a basic knowledge of a few essential koi supplies that are needed to keep them healthy and happy. Replacing the oxygen to the water is one of the most valuable of supplies and can be done with a simple fountain. This will drown out any of the unwanted sounds coming from the neighbors next door or the street in front of the house, while giving precious oxygenated water to your fish.

In order to maintain a high quality, clean water, it will be necessary to add a filtering system to your pond. The filter will remove pollutants as well as excess nitrogen that are continuously put into the pond by the fish excrements and various plant life. These filtration systems work by moving the water through the system, so it will be necessary to purchase and install a pump in addition to the one that moves water in the fountain or waterfall.

A must for koi owners and basic to koi supplies is having a good amount of high quality food. Koi enjoy a great variety of foods by they have need of the right balance of proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements to remain healthy and growing, that can be purchased in the fish food. Since koi can be trained to come and eat from their feeders hand, snacks and treats can be offered at special times during the day.

Koi are a very brilliant fish with a great variety of bright colors, which is highly enjoyed by their owners. However, this bright coloring is also an attractant for predators of the fish. When planning your pond, consider ways to protect your fish. A pond that is shallow can allow animals and birds to wade into the midst of your fish and feed at will. Consider placing the pond under a shady, deciduous tree with branches that are sufficiently high enough that mammals cannot use them to fish your pond and yet keep the pond invisible to high flying birds that would otherwise prey upon your fish. Some people add a net to their kit of koi supplies to cover their pond and protect it from predators, as well as keep it clear of debris such as falling leaves.

There are some koi supplies which should be kept on hand even though they are not used frequently. A dechlorinator should be used when filling the pond and when replenishing the water as it evaporates, if town water is used. This is essential for eliminating the harmful chemicals. The pH and the nitrate levels should be carefully check on a weekly basis, by test kits which can be purchased at local pet shops. Baking soda or pond salt should also be kept handy. Either can be added to the pond water, when tests show the chemical levels are incorrect.

Consider the types of koi supplies that you might need when setting up your outdoor koi pond and remember that although Koi take very little effort on the part of their owners, they are mesmerizing and beautiful and they are well worth the effort put into it.

Build A Koi Pond

There is nothing more relaxing

then the sound of water trickling over rock

Koi ponds vary as much as the imagination.  However, there are certain steps that must be taken to building a koi pond and making it safe for everyone around it. The first step would be to inform yourself of any legal permits or licences that will be needed and the security codes for the area in which you intend to build the pond. At this point it is wise to decide if a formal water pond is wanted or an informal one.

The size of the pond must be determined and the type of pond liner which is best for the area. There are several choices at this point. The liner could be a rigid plastic liner, a flexible liner, an in-ground concrete pond or a raised pond. The choices that you make at this point, will determine the future of your investment and the ability to expand, if necessary.

The simplest method to building the pond is to use a preformed or pre-molded liner pond. The pond will be small and difficult to expand in the future. This type of pond is worth considering, when you want a small pond for rearing small koi. It is also a good way of lining a small raised pond. However, many experts warn against the use of a rigid pond liner, if you want a well-balanced pond that doesn’t turn green with numerous algae that will grow. Recently tough black plastic ponds with long-term guarantees have been created with large surface areas and depths of more than one and half feet. Straight forward geometrical shapes are offered along side the convoluted ones and additional shelving for marginal plants has been improved. They are even made with a planting area for a bog garden, if that is so desired.

Of the rigid liner ponds, there are three materials of which to purchase them. Each one is of better quality and should come with at least a 10 year guarantee. The ordinary plastic liner is the least expensive one. It is also the least likely to stand up to the exposure to sunlight for very long. It is a vacuum-formed polythene and is only considered semi-rigid. A reinforced plastic is more practical since the smooth-walled shells have a high resistance to UV light and corners and floor are reinforced. A resin-bonded fibreglass liner is virtually indestructible by the elements and is considered the best construction material for a rigid liner pond.

The concrete pond is the most traditional method of building a koi pond. Some consider it the best type of finished pond because of its durability. It is still used in formal, large square or oblong pond shapes, but it is a job that professional masonry workers complete. However, to build a simple, round or oblong pond is within an amateurs capability if he or she has at least a little experience working with concrete. A concrete pond must be sealed before stocking because the lime tat is used is harmful to fish.

The flexible liner pond is possibly the most satisfying way for the do-it-yourself person, to build a koi pond. It can be built large enough to house numerous fish and plants and it is not limited to the size and depth offered by the other methods of building ponds. It is easier to transport and handle in the garden and price is comparable to the other types of liners. The drawback is that it is impossible to achieve the smooth surface and angles found in other types of liners. There are always ‘wrinkles’ in the liner that can be folder and smoothed out enough so not to pose a serious problem.

There are three types of liner sheeting that can be purchased. The polyethylene sheeting is easily torn and should be restricted to temporary ponds. It’s life is relatively short because it cracks after long exposure to sunlight. The PVC sheeting is strong and stretchable material which is about half the price of the more expensive butyl sheeting. The butyl sheeting is a synthetic rubber material and is by far the best available. It is unaffected by sunlight and frost, stretches readily and is available in any size.

Illustrated d0-it-yourself details on the construction and preparing each of these types of ponds for stock, and more are covered in my ebook, “Koi Care & Ponds Unlimited”.

Koi Gardens

I beg your pardon! I never promised you a koi garden.

It is said that once you own and care for koi gardens, the only way to go is up.  Most people start with a small pond, a fountain or waterfall and a few fish.  They add a lily plant to the pond and a few marginal plants like irises, ornamental grasses amongst some rocky ledges and then it all seems to grow. Before they know it, the little koi garden has taken on a new spirit and become a extension of the living space.

A year later, the pond has expanded two or three times its original size, with a walking bridge separating the pools and the plants have multiplied in size and variety, too. The koi garden has added new dimensions to itself.  A small pebble beach has evolved, a rock garden, and a bog patch with a zen meditating garden.  Ornaments find their place in a koi garden. The statue of the little boy fishing, the Japanese stone lanterns and garden charms like gargoyles hidden in corners, where you wouldn’t expect to look, all add to the koi garden.

A few years after that, those few small brightly colored fish have grown many times the size they were when you bought them and they too have multiplied.  Koi gardens don’t seem to stop growing until they run out of space.  Each and every year, they are more beautiful and tranquil then the year before.  Wonderfully shaped potted bonsai trees have found a place and Japanese maples adorn the garden and are flourishing also.

A koi garden mixes several different elements of many types of gardens and molds it into a healthy, thriving system. A world unto itself. Typically though, koi gardens consists of four major parts; the pond, koi fish, plant life and atmosphere. 

The first part, the pond section should be a large enough to start with two or three good sized fish. It should be four to five feet deep at least, in the deepest section, so that the fish can winter over in the sediment at the bottom. The depth depends on the average winter temperatures. There is the option of having a shallower pond and overwintering the fish indoors in a large aquarium.

The koi garden should be placed at least partially in the shade, for various reasons, including lowering the water temperature, protecting the fish from sunburn and predators, reducing algae and evaporation.

The plants should also play their part in shading the pond, plus there is the added benefit of their beauty. They will provide some food for the fish and a place to congregate. Koi and plants don’t really live well together though.  Koi are bottom dwellers and tend to swish the soil away from the roots of the plants, particularly if the plant are in pots. Larger fish can also knock over the plant pots which leaves the owner having to wade in to set things right again. Of course appropriate weights and netting to hold the soil in the pots can overcome such obstacles.

Chemical runoff can be a problem for your koi garden.  Lawn pesticides, roof runoff, even the environment can produce some of the strangest difficulties, but learning how to cope makes having a koi garden worth while. A koi garden is a place of pride, of learning, of teaching and a place of tranquility.

Hello Koi Friends!

This is my very first post in this weblog.  I’m really excited about starting a blog on Koi; I’ve been planning it for two months now.  

I’ve been a koi enthusiast for many years now, and in that time I’ve discovered secrets of caring for koi that most people don’t seem to know about.  I intend to put many of those tricks and tips to having safe and healthy koi into this weblog. So return often, about once a week to see what new hints I’ve come up with.

I want to document a lot of beautiful graphics of the different species of koi and the water gardens they live in.  Mostly I will be writing articles about just about anything to do with koi.   But instead of article marketing, I want to add pictures, lots of pictures to make this koi home a beautiful place to live.

I intend to do extensive classifications and place everything I write into selected categories, so watch those.  There won’t be a lot of categories, but there will be quality in the ones that are there.

I’ll often be updating this particular post, I think.  I’ll be using it as an outline for what is to come